Brown v Adair, Crean in Sarawak …

BOB BROWN OPPOSES MALAYSIAN DAMS

Bob Brown is in Kuching, the capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, to talk about Hydro Tasmania’s history in Tasmania and role in Malaysian dams which are displacing thousands of indigenous people.

Tomorrow Brown, who is accompanied by the Huon Valley Environment Centre’s Jenny Weber, will address the Save Rivers conference in Kuching which has been set up as an alternative to the International Hydro Power conference also in Kuching.

The Chair, David Crean, and CEO, Roy Adair, of Hydro Tasmania are slated to take part in the latter conference.

Hydro Tasmania has been advising the dam-building authority Sarawak Energy and provided the project officer who oversaw the Murum Dam’s construction in Sarawak until 2011.

This dam is 141 metres high, will have a capacity of 944 Megawatts and will flood some 250 square kilometres of rainforest and farmlands.

The dam is being built by the giant Chinese construction company Sinohydro.

It will flood the homelands of 1,400 people of the Penan and Kenyah people, including the villages of Long Wat, Long Malim, Long Luar, Long Tangau, Long Menapa, Long Singhu and Long Umpa.

Flooding is due to be under way in 2013 and follows a blockade set up by Penan communities in 2012 .

At least 9 more dams area proposed by the Sarawak state government of Abdul Taib Mahmud, who is under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for corruption after amassing a fortune of billions of dollars while in office.

“Hydro Tasmania’s senior officers are addressing this conference of the world’s biggest dam builders on ‘sustainability’ while the indigenous people of Sarawak are protesting outside and while HT has 4 consultants working on these megadams which international organizations have condemned as involving gross corruption,” Brown said.

Hydro Tasmania is a major sponsor of the international conference, along with Sinohydro, and Sarawak Energy.

Meanwhile, in New Matilda:
• Investment, Sarawak style
• Sarawak leaders protest Australian role in dam